According to
Saharareporters ''The UK Home Office has banned flamboyant Nigerian
pastor, Bishop David Oyedepo, from entering Britain, a British
government source told SaharaReporters. Mr. Oyedepo is known as the
general overseer of the Living Faith Church Worldwide, otherwise known
as Winners Chapel. Headquartered in Ota, Ogun State, the church has
branches in numerous parts of the world, including the UK and US.
According to the source,
the ban arose from preliminary investigations by Britain’s Charity
Commission that determined that monies donated to Bishop
Oyedepo’s church for charitable purposes were funneled to Nigeria to fund the preacher’s flamboyant lifestyle.
Bishop Oyedepo owns a plush private jet and has a fleet of expensive cars, among many other astonishing personal assets.
Bishop Oyedepo was
barred from entering the United Kingdom in July. However, when
SaharaReporters contacted Nicola Kelly, a press officer at the
immigration desk at the UK Home Office, she declined to comment on the
case.
The same day, our
reporter spoke to one Emmanuel Igban, a media aide to Bishop Oyedepo,
but he denied that the high-flying preacher had been banned.
But our British source
asserted that Bishop Oyedepo and one of his sons had been aware of the
probe of church finances for at least three years now.
He added that the probe
was triggered after the British Charity Commission found out that the
wealthy pastor had taken out more than £16 million from the UK since
2009. He added that the commission closely monitors any repatriation of
church resources, disclosing that any repatriation of funds of that size
was most likely illegal.
According to the source,
Bishop Oyedepo claimed that he was running a not-for-profit religious
organization, “but the commission determined that he was diverting funds
to engage in a series of profitable ventures.”
Bishop Oyedepo, who
recently turned 60, is believed to be Nigeria’s richest pastor and is
widely regarded as one of the richest televangelists in the world.
The UK government has distributed notices warning airlines that operate flights to the UK not carry the bishop.
Mr. Oyedepo’s private jet is also barred from entering the UK airspace with him on board.
A few years ago, Bishop
Oyedepo provoked international outrage when videotapes of one of his
church events showed him slapping a teenage girl he accused of being a
witch. In the face of mounting criticism, including calls for his arrest
for assaulting a minor, Mr. Oyedepo boasted that he would slap the
“witch” again.
*Is this true?sometimes I
doubt sahara stories.That was how Helen Akpabio's own was reportedly
said that she had been banned from entering the UK and thereafter she
had an interview with YESinternational mag denying it.
Post a Comment